Integrating Webex Calling and Communications Manager Express 1/2

 Cisco now supports WebEx Calling locations that use Cloud Connected PSTN to also integrate with a local gateway (CUBE) for on-net dialing to a PBX. The new trunk, route group, and dial plan configuration options in the WebEx Control Hub facilitate this. Cisco has guides published that reference the configuration to support Communications Manager as that PBX specifically. These two posts will take it in a slightly different direction and explore integrating with Communications Manager Express. While not explicitly called out as supported by Cisco I've had success with the integration with a little assistance from Cisco TAC. This integration may help folks migrating off of existing CME deployments and onto WebEx Calling.

This first post will call out some caveats I ran into at a high level. The second post of two will go into more detail about how I addressed the caveats.

Gotchas

• The Communications Manager Express (WebEx local gateway / CUBE) requires a security license. While this makes sense now it wasn't explicitly called out in the documentation and I missed this requirement initially. The documentation does say, "The trunk between the local gateway and the Webex cloud is always secured using SIP TLS transport and SRTP for media between the local gateway and the Webex Calling Access SBC". Read, get a security license on that CUBE. (along with the CUBE licensing that is stated as required in the documentation)

• The CME phone directory numbers will by default register to the WebEx Control Hub. This can cause confusion/issues with the trunk authentication between the CUBE and the WebEx Control Hub. The first time I integrated a CME it didn't present as an issue but the 2nd time I integrated one the trunk wouldn't authenticate. Cisco TAC requested that I removed the registration from the CME phone directory numbers to the WebEx Control Hub.

• The WebEx Calling location in the WebEx Control Hub needs to have a main phone number associated with it. "You will not be able to make or receive calls until this number is added" Even though this location will not host phones in the WebEx Control Hub the WebEx Calling location must have a main number defined or the location will not process calls. 

• The CME dial-peers directed at the WebEx cloud didn't present the SIP signaling in a way that the WebEx cloud expected to see it. Cisco TAC suggested hair-pinning the dial peers to obfuscate CME from WebEx Calling. We also needed to do a little bit of dial-plan manipulation prefixing digits so that the CUBE didn't drop the calls as a "loop". Technically TAC said CME isn't specially called out as being supported however, this workaround allowed the SIP signaling to present to the WebEx cloud in the way they typically expect to see it.

Fun with Cisco Compliance Recording (Live Monitoring)

* This list of notes is to remind myself of some of the gotchas during the installation.  Your mileage may very.


SQL Shenanigans
Configuring the Compliance Recording integration to SQL puked.  It threw a, "Network error IOException: Connection refused", error message.  It turns out that the TCP/IP protocol was disabled by default for SQL.  It was fixed by firing up the SQL Server Management Studio (SSMS) and enabling the TCP/IP protocol.

Fun with the UCCX integration

• Primary & Secondary UCCX Server Hostname

Entering the hostname configuration to match the hostname of the UCCX server didn't work out.  In this case the hostname had hyphens in it.  Compliance Recording doesn't handle the hyphens correctly.  The hyphens in the hostnames need to be entered as underscores instead.  This is to ensure that the automagically generated "db instance name" guess matches the actual Informix database instance name.  For whatever reason, the software will not automagically replace the hyphens with an underscore.

(Incidentally, the install doc also states that if the server name starts with a number to add the letter "i" to the beginning of the name.  "For example, if the server name is “100-voiceuccx-01”, enter “i100_voiceuccx_01”.")

• UCCX Workforce User Login

There are 2 options for UCCX Workforce User.  Both of these are preexisting special purpose users that live in the UCCX system.

• uccxworkforce - The default user for standard "network" based recording with the media sense server.
• uccxhruser - This user supports "mediasense" based recording.

The installation guide states, "The uccxworkforce login ID does not have permission to use contactcalldetail and agent connectiondetail tables that are required for reconciliation."

• UCCX Workforce User Password

Using passwords with more than 8 characters and/or symbols is NOT supported!  The password needs to be 8 characters or less with no special characters (letters and numbers supported only)

The other fun fact is the password needs to be manually configured on both the Primary UCCX and the HA UCCX  servers.  (It doesn't synch).  But at least UCCX is nice enough to generate a warning after setting the password on the Primary "box".

Archive Work Flow
Configuring an archive work flow is mandatory for Live Monitoring (or "network" based recording to work).  I spent a couple of days going over everything with a fine tooth comb with the nice folks from Calabrio before we realized the archive work flow is mandatory for Live Monitoring.  Even if the calls are not meant to be archived, the archive work flow must still be configured (archive work flow can be set to not save recordings)  The other fun gotcha is I tested with a "test" team and almost forgot to enable the archive work flow for the production teams.

Live Monitoring - Network Based Recording Requirement
Live monitoring will not work with media sense integrated recording.  The standard "network" based CR server needs to capture the audio for Live Monitoring to work.

Sameday Download - Call Recording
Sameday audio (contacts) can not be downloaded by users until the audio is played in the browser (or at least selected so the audio loads in the web based media player).  After the audio (contact) is played in the browser it is migrated to long term storage.  The audio export process pulls the audio from long term storage.

Reference Docs
Cisco has some useful reference documents on their website.  calabrio.com also has some good information too for Cisco partners.  The Calabrio site does require obtaining a Calabrio login which can take a couple of days.

* Note - Observations based on a Compliance Recording 11.5.1 SR5 experience